


Welcome Home [Whumptober 2020]

by chemically_imbalanced_romance



Series: Whumptober 2020/Cult AU [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cults, Gaslighting, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Lmk if i missed any trigger tags, Manipulation, Restraints, Whump, Whumptober 2020, accidental misgendering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:47:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26745367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chemically_imbalanced_romance/pseuds/chemically_imbalanced_romance
Summary: [Whumptober 2020 Day 1; Cult AU] Janus returns home.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders
Series: Whumptober 2020/Cult AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947007
Comments: 7
Kudos: 70
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Welcome Home [Whumptober 2020]

**Author's Note:**

> 1st) Each prompt for whumptober, I’m filling for the same au and the same story. They’re not all going to be in chronological order but they will all be connected. 2nd) I tried naming the bad guys names that I don’t think anybody would actually have but were also not, like, stupid lol, so if your name is Bates or Styx… I’m sorry lol. And 3rd), the prompt: No. 1: Let’s Hang Out Sometime [Waking up restrained]

_October 2nd. 6:04 am._

Soft groaning vibrated from the left of Janus, tugging him out of unconsciousness. Dull pain squeezed Janus’ head hard enough for him to whimper, something warm and sticky running down the side of his face. 

_Not again._ He squeezed his eyes shut. _Please, not again._

“You waking up?”

The voice was gentle, kind, but Janus wouldn’t be fooled. Not again. He cried out as Bates smacked him, the side of his face burning. 

Bates chuckled. “Always thinking you can hide from me. Open your eyes, Janus, don’t waste my time.” 

Janus cracked his eyes open. Bates towered over him, his messy brown hair freshly cut and tossed back, blue eyes as bright as ever. Styx stood slightly behind him, a grin carved into his face. 

Janus didn’t recognize where they were. It was a large storage room, full of filing cabinets, crates, and cardboard boxes. Narrow windows lined the top of the wall across from him, allowing a small bit of sunlight to stream through but mostly covered in dirt. 

“New location?” His voice broke, and he dissolved into a coughing fit. Each time he sucked in a desperate breath, it only irritated his dry throat, leaving him dry heaving onto the stone floor. 

Bates smiled. He waited for Janus to calm. “Temporarily. I’m sorry for the, uh…” He gestured vaguely, “situation, but we’re just so happy to have you back, and I really can’t risk you hurting yourself, or leaving again.” 

Janus tugged uselessly at his handcuffs. They clanged against the pipe they were locked around. 

“Bullshit! Don’t act sorry, you fucking kidnapped us!” 

Janus jumped. He whipped his head around, and his eyes widened. _Fuck._ He’d completely forgotten about the poor receptionist who’d gotten in the way. He gave the small girl a look and shook his head. 

She scowled. The black makeup under her eyes was smudged with tears. “What the fuck do you want from us, anyway?” 

“Well.” Bates clasped his hands behind his back. “That depends on who’s asking. What’s your name, dear?” 

She narrowed her eyes. “Virgil.” 

“Hmm. That’s not a very feminine name.”

“I’m not a girl,” she snapped. 

He chuckled and raised his hands. “I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean to offend. Virgil, _I_ don’t want anything from you. I simply wanted my Janus back, and you got in the way.” 

“Then what are you going to do to me?”

“Well, that’s for Styx to decide.” Virgil started asking more questions, but Bates plowed through as if he didn’t hear him, turning his gaze to Janus. “First, I want to know why you left. It broke my heart, you know.” 

_Good._ He pursed his lips. 

Bates knelt in front of him and rested one hand on the soft side of his face. “You should know by now that the silent treatment won’t get you anywhere.” 

“You know why I left.”

He sighed, frowning deeply. “Of course I do. And I forgive you. Don’t you worry about that. It’s not your fault you were confused. Don’t worry. I’ll remind you why you joined me in the first place, and everything will make sense again.” Janus suppressed a shudder as Bates leaned in and kissed his forehead. “You two should get some rest. It’ll be a long day. I love you, Janus.” 

Bates didn’t move. He locked eyes with Janus, and after a moment of silence, raised his eyebrows. 

His nails broke Janus’ skin. “Did you hear me, darling?” 

“I love you, too,” he managed. 

Bates patted him and stood. “Good boy. Styx, come with me, you can play later.” 

Bates’ footsteps clacked up the stairs. As he passed, Styx spat on Janus’ leg and whispered, “Welcome home.” 

The door slammed and locked, and their footsteps echoed away. 

Virgil sucked in a trembling breath. “I wish you’d told me you were fleeing a cult when you checked in.”

“I wish we’d never stopped.”

**Author's Note:**

> I am SUPER excited to get this going!! Hense the early posting lol, I've had this fic written for like two weeks now. If you want to talk to me more about this au, you can check me out at abused-sides on Tumblr. Please let me know what you think <3 The fics aren't all going to be this short, most of them are actually at least 1000 words.


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